The Laurens advertiser. (Laurens, S.C.) 1885-1973, 1887-03-09

GEN. LORD WOLSELEY REVIEWS THE
SOUTHERN LEADERS LIFE.

The Scene Described When lie Accepted Il
Commission From the Mother of Presi-
dcnts--A Comparison Between the Amer
lean Soldier ana England's Conqucring
marlborough.
New YORK, March 1.-Of the cables
printed in the New York papers the fol
lowing special cable from London to the
World is the one which will attract most
attentions
The leading article in Macmillan s
Magazine for March is by General Lord
Wolseley, on General Lee. Reference
is made in foot note to tho recently
published memoirs Of General Lee by
General Long and Marcus Wright, but
In no sense review of that work. Gen
eral Leo is given full credit for the love
he had for the Union, and for the strug.
gle he went through before finally taking
the decision to go with his own State
General Wolseley describes how Lee
accepted his commission as commander
ln-chlef OF all the military f. ces of Vir-
gina III crowded convention of the
most eminent men Of the State, and then
draws parallel between lim and the
great Marlborough: "GcnOral Lees
presence commanded respect even from
strangers by calm, sclf-posscsscd dig
nlty the like of which / have never seen
IN other men. Naturally of strong pas
slons he kept them under perfect control
by that iron and determined will of
which his expression and his face gave
evidence. AS this tall and handsome
soldier stood before Ais countrymen he
was the picture Of the ideal patriot.
Unconscious and sclf-posscssed in his
strength, he indulged i'll no theati ical
display of feeling. There was in his
lace and about him that placid resolve
which bespoke great confidence in self,
ana winch, IN his case, one knows not
how quickly communicated Us magnetic
influence to others. He WAS then ust
hlty-tonr years old, tho a8n OF Mull-
borough when he destroyed the I'rruch
army ut Blcnheim. Ia many ways and
on many points these two p.ut men
much resembled cach other. I}oyh were
of digniiied and commau0iug; exterior.
eminently handsome, with figure tall,
graceful and erect, while u Muscular,
square-built frame bespoke gycrt activity
OF body. The charm OF manner winch
l. have mentioned as yer, Winning I'm
Lee was possessed IN tho highest degree
by Marlborough. Both, ut The outset
OF their great career OF victory, were re-
Safded as essentially national command
ers Both had married young and were
faithful husbands and devoted fathers.
Both had III ali their cam paigns the
same DencI III an ever watciIml Prov-
dencc, in whose help they trusted i'm
pllcltly and Tor whose intcrposition thoy
prayed at all times. They were gifted
with the same military instinct, the
same genius for war, the power of fasci-
mating those with whom they were asso-
ciated, the spell which they cast over
their soldiers who believed almost super
stitiously in their certainty of victory.
Their contempt of danger and their dar-
ing courage constitute parallel that is
difficult to equal between any other two
great men OF modern times"
AN ORGANIZER.
Reference is made as to how General
Lee organized an army of 80, 900 men in
two months, and as to how in another
month he had gained great victory ut
Bull Run and driven the Northern in
vaders back across the Potomac like
herds of frightened sheep, his army be-
ing supplied with ammunition, army
stores and clothing captured there. He
tells the following story: "Some time
afterward, when General Pope and his
large invading army had been sent back
flying across the Maryland border, |
overheard this conversation between two
Confederate soldiers: Have you heard
the news? General Lee has resigned
Good God, was the reply; what for?'
He has resigned because he says he can
not feed and supply his army any longer
now that his commissary, General Pope,
has been removed Mr.. Lincoln had
just then dismissed General Pope, re-
placing him by General Mcclellan"
INEFFICIENT sUBoRDINATEs.
General Wolscloy incidentally ex-
presses an opinion, when speaking OF
Bull Run, that the Confedcrates did not
follow up their victory there as they
should have done. A rapid and daring
advance would have given them posses
sion of Washington, their enemy's capi-
tai. Political considerations at Rich
mond were allowed to outweigh tho very
evident military experience OF reaping a
solid advantage from this their first great
success This suggests the general criti-
cism which follows:
"What most strikes the regular soldier
in these campaigns of General Lee is the
inefficient manner i'll which both he and
his opponents were often served by their
subordinate commander and how badly
the staff and outpost work generally was
performed on both sides. Ii is most
difficult to move, with any effective pre-.
cision, young armies constituted as these
were during this war. The direction and
movement of large bodies of nowly
raised troops, even when victorious, are
never easy and often impossible. Over
and over again was the South apparently
within stones throw of independence,
and it has been many times remarked
when from want of a thoroughly good
staff to organize the pursuit, the occa-
sion was lost, and the enemy allowed to
escape. Lees combinations TO secure
victory were the conceptions of truly
great strategist, and when they had been
effected his tactics were also most always
ayaYufl,ino, That cnul1 Ina 1psiral nm 10